Food! Goodness me, school lunches!

[Siyris]

Oh whoa, those lunch portions are intense. Do the kids not eat breakfast? Is THAT a normal portion for a Japanese child? How the heck are these kids not overweight?

Exactly what I was asking myself

I'm not all that picky, but I do have a small appetite. There's no way in herk I'm stuffing myself every single lunch time. If I bring a plastic bowl or something, can I save the rest of my lunch for later? Can I just tell them, "Oh it's good, but I certainly can't eat all of it. I'll save it for later!" ?

I'm picky (as a mentioned before) so I eat very little. But I do want to know about this too. Would it be okay to bring a thing with and save your food until later? Like I said, I really do not want to offend. I know Word mentioned that he Saran-wrap's his leftovers and it seems to be okay, but how common is this?

As I said above, it depends on the school. At my schools, that is simply not an option. The answer is a flat no. However I know of other ALTs in the prefecture who have no problem doing that, or even bringing their own lunches (most of the ones who bring their own are vegetarians though, or have numerous allergies).

Worrying about things like this at this point in the process is foolish. Instead you should be worrying about making packing lists, getting time sensitive things done that might need to be done, making back up plans, and spending time with friends and family. Worrying over things that are at minimum 5 months away or not at all, and then stressing over them is not a productive use of your time. Especially when these things vary hugely depending on the individual schools you might end up working at.
Get off the forums for a while and think about something else.

[DjinnWired]

The school lunch comes in huge tubs and gets served by kids in the classroom or teachers if you eat in the staff room. It is perfectly acceptable to ask for a small portion (if you are a girl they will expect it anyway). They may initially try to give you a huge serve because of the perception that foreigners eat a lot, so just be consistent and firm.

I am vegetarian so I bring a packed lunch, but I still eat in the classroom with the kids. I think that is a really important bonding experience. There is no problem with bringing your own food, as long as the school knows in advance (otherwise they will order extra kyushoku and have to bear the cost). My lunches are a source of endless fascination to the kids (and more than a few of the teachers), because I eat a lot of foods that they aren't familiar with (cous cous, lasagne, seitan). Every single kids wants to see inside my lunch box, so they all make excuses to come over to me. It is a pain in the arse having to make lunch every day though.

[eFred]

Worrying about things like this at this point in the process is foolish. Instead you should be worrying about making packing lists, getting time sensitive things done that might need to be done, making back up plans, and spending time with friends and family. Worrying over things that are at minimum 5 months away or not at all, and then stressing over them is not a productive use of your time. Especially when these things vary hugely depending on the individual schools you might end up working at.
Get off the forums for a while and think about something else.

Silly? Yes of course it is. Foolish? Not so much. I'm not overly worried though, just wanting to know stuff.

As for packing lists, back up plans, friends etc. That was the easy part.

Reading the forums gives me something to do (between working, writing, tutoring, learning a new language). I don't post very often anyway.

[AVN]

As I said above, it depends on the school. At my schools, that is simply not an option. The answer is a flat no. However I know of other ALTs in the prefecture who have no problem doing that, or even bringing their own lunches (most of the ones who bring their own are vegetarians though, or have numerous allergies).

I think this should be the summary post for this thread.

ESID

Yes you may be allowed to eat with the students and bring your own food but this is usually only for people who are serious vegetarians or have serious dietary restrictions.

Whether you are allowed or not will depend on your CO.

Edit: I also think curiousity at this stage is fine. Worrying/freaking out is a waste of time. So as long as you're just curious and asking questions you know will get you ESID answers I think it's fine. Get excited

[Siyris]

There is no problem with bringing your own food, as long as the school knows in advance (otherwise they will order extra kyushoku and have to bear the cost).

Again, this is an ESID thing. I was told flat out by both of my schools that I was not permitted to bring in my own lunches. As was my pred... and his pred. So don't count on it being an option.
Again, the people I know who are permitted such are only permitted to because of being hard-core vegetarians, or because of serious allergies such as nuts, lactose, or gluten. If you are able to bring your own lunches and eat with the kids Djinn that's wonderful... but you probably shouldn't make blanket statements saying that it would be no problem as that is simply not true in all cases.

Silly? Yes of course it is. Foolish? Not so much. I'm not overly worried though, just wanting to know stuff.

As for packing lists, back up plans, friends etc. That was the easy part.

Reading the forums gives me something to do (between working, writing, tutoring, learning a new language). I don't post very often anyway.

I'm sorry if I sounded harsh, it was not intended. If you're just curious and wanting to know stuff, all power to you. Curiosity and questions are good. Stress and worry are not.

[Cliodhna]

Ohhhhh man, hahaha. College students really do have it good in the cafeteria in Japan- this really explains why even the worst places had a line when I was an exchange student.

Basically, that website is awesome. Those hotdogs are probably the only shady thing on there. Japanese milk is a little funky but eating a lot of chocolate chip cookies gets you used to it pretty fast (after eating ten nuked country ma'ams, you NEED the milk). Also, for those trying to gauge the taste of the western-looking items, the spaghetti is not as it seems. Pretty much, if you think anything will taste a certain way, you're probably wrong, but wrong in a good way because it'll probably taste better than it looks. Also, if it looks like chocolate, it's probably not chocolate.

While the korean school lunches look freaking amazing in comparison, the Japanese lunches appear perfectly palatable. My advice is to not judge by appearances all that much and not to worry too badly about it.

Although personally I think I'd to have to cop out of the natto somehow....

[nickiroll]

I think milk in Japan (and Korea) is a little heavier than what Americans are used to? Except the people who drink nothing but whole milk. I drink a lot of milk, and I actually prefer the taste of Japanese/Korean milk, especially when it's ice cold.

If I get in, I'm looking forward to Japanese food over Korean food, because 9 times out of 10 it's not good Korean eating unless you slap some chili paste on it. Japan has more options for spice wimps.

[chomuch]

I think milk in Japan (and Korea) is a little heavier than what Americans are used to? Except the people who drink nothing but whole milk. I drink a lot of milk, and I actually prefer the taste of Japanese/Korean milk, especially when it's ice cold.

Really? Because when I studied abroad in Japan, I felt that the milk there was lighter... almost like a water-y taste. I was a huge 2% milk drinker before the trip and drinking the Japanese milk reminded me of skim milk (I hated skim milk but after Japan, I go back and forth between 2% percent and skim. Though now, I'm more of a soymilk drinker, a har).

Then again, I drank the milk that my host mom brought from the grocery store. I'm sure there are different types of milk available in the J-land. Anyone know if they categorize it like the states (whole, 2%, 1%, skim, etc)?

[Cliodhna]

9 times out of 10 it's not good Korean eating unless you slap some chili paste on it. Japan has more options for spice wimps.

Fair enough. I'm not a korean food pro, I just thought their examples on the site looked pretty good. (and there's nothing wrong with pepper paste!)

I think Japanese milk might be super ultra whole milk or something. I remember the first time I opened a carton I thought it had gone bad. Took six months to adjust, and yeah, it took a cookie emergency to break down and drink it straight without instant breakfast from home mixed in.

Then again, I drank the milk that my host mom brought from the grocery store. I'm sure there are different types of milk available in the J-land. Anyone know if they categorize it like the states (whole, 2%, 1%, skim, etc)?

I've never personally had watery japanese milk unless you'd call calpis that, but I've never seen more than one kind of milk in Japan. I wish I had- I would have bought it, haha. I can't speak for others' grocery areas, but from my personal experiences where I was, there was only ever one kind of milk and it was the super ultra whole milk kind, replete with token cow on the carton.

[nickiroll]

Fair enough. I'm not a korean food pro, I just thought their examples on the site looked pretty good. (and there's nothing wrong with pepper paste!)

Korean food is really tasty! It's my fault I'm a wuss about chili paste, really. At least it gave my Korean coworkers something to be amused about.

The super whole milk thing makes sense, because I think whole milk is actually better for lactose intolerance? However that science works out.

[Siyris]

I think milk in Japan (and Korea) is a little heavier than what Americans are used to? Except the people who drink nothing but whole milk. I drink a lot of milk, and I actually prefer the taste of Japanese/Korean milk, especially when it's ice cold.

Really? Because when I studied abroad in Japan, I felt that the milk there was lighter... almost like a water-y taste. I was a huge 2% milk drinker before the trip and drinking the Japanese milk reminded me of skim milk (I hated skim milk but after Japan, I go back and forth between 2% percent and skim. Though now, I'm more of a soymilk drinker, a har).

Then again, I drank the milk that my host mom brought from the grocery store. I'm sure there are different types of milk available in the J-land. Anyone know if they categorize it like the states (whole, 2%, 1%, skim, etc)?

Most milk (at least in my area) is whole milk. You can get 'low fat' milk but the packaging doesn't say if it's 1% or 2% or what... it's not very good. At home I usually drink 1% but here I tried the low fat milk and it tasted really funny... it also goes bad twice as fast... not sure why though. There's also a milk substitute thing that I got by accident one time... that was REALLY nasty. Both for drinking and for cooking... I ended up pouring it out.

I do find that the milk I buy at the grocery store has an odd almost peanut-y taste to it.... though the little packs that come with school lunch don't seem to.

If you like soy milk, that is available, but (so far as I've seen) only in small single-serving packages. I have yet to see almond milk or other non-dairy milk substitutes, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

[Mordoc]

If you like soy milk, that is available, but (so far as I've seen) only in small single-serving packages. I have yet to see almond milk or other non-dairy milk substitutes, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

Hmm, maybe it's a regional thing, but we have soy milk here in just about every grocery store in liter containers. it's usually closer to the yogurt area than the milk area. Also, soy milk in Japan is usually unflavored, as opposed to a lot of soy milk in America being vanilla flavored. I have only found vanilla soy milk at Costco and an American brand. I often use that in smoothies for breakfast.

for anyone wondering, soy milk is 豆乳 (とうにゅう）in Japanese.

Also with most of the lowfat milk I find in stores, It's not actually all milk, they mix other things in with it like whey solids and such. I have found one brand that is pure lowfat milk, but it is a lot more expensive.

[AVN]

In Japan most milk is whole milk (3.5%). When I first moved here I thought it was near impossible to find low fat milk but then I discovered that milk cartons do actually give the percentage on them. They just don't advertise it well. 7-11 and Seicomart (in Hokkaido) almost always have full fat and low fat (1.5%) available. I find these taste almost exactly the same as milk back home. Any lower than 1% and you might accidentally get the weird milk where they don't just skim the fat off the treat it somehow. Even Japanese people will tell you it tastes different.
I have since found one that is lower than 1% which is delicious, not sure how readily available it is outside of Japan but here are some pictures to help you out.
The blue carton is 3.5% and the green is 0.7%
The percentage is always listed on the side.
Please note most low fat milk does not say low fat in English on it like this one does.

[SakuraHoshi]

I love most of the Japanese foods I've ever tried, especially ramen dishes. I don't eat meat but I'm a big fan of fish, so that goes down well. However, there are definitely things I tried over there that nearly made me gag. One thing I'm a bit concerned about is portion size and how much we're expected to eat. I struggle to eat a lot in one sitting and end up leaving most. I read on one ALT's blog that the school portion sizes are pretty massive and you're expected to eat it all. Is that true? Or is it an ESID thing? I don't want to offend people but I can't really force myself to eat way more than I can manage. Unless they enjoy watching me throw up

[Siyris]

I love most of the Japanese foods I've ever tried, especially ramen dishes. I don't eat meat but I'm a big fan of fish, so that goes down well. However, there are definitely things I tried over there that nearly made me gag. One thing I'm a bit concerned about is portion size and how much we're expected to eat. I struggle to eat a lot in one sitting and end up leaving most. I read on one ALT's blog that the school portion sizes are pretty massive and you're expected to eat it all. Is that true? Or is it an ESID thing? I don't want to offend people but I can't really force myself to eat way more than I can manage. Unless they enjoy watching me throw up

The portions are pretty big... the solution to this (at my schools which seem pretty strict about eating what you're given compared to other people who have posted on this thread) is to, before you eat ANYTHING find the nearest boy (or girl, but more often it'll be a boy) or male teacher and ask if they will take some of your rice. Usually the answer will be yes. then you use your chopsticks to put a chunk of your rice into their bowl. IMPORTANT NOTE on this method is that you cannot use it if you have already eaten anything off your plate using your chopsticks. It then makes them unclean, as is whatever you took a bite from. So if you get a meal that looks like it'll be too big for you, get rid of what you can't eat at the start.
The rules in my school about this are pretty lax -- you can give away as much as half of your rice, a quarter of your piece of fish, half of your veggies and a half of your soup. You can't give away all of anything though.

The other technique is during serving, often there will be some trays that have been served smaller portions of rice.... make sure you grab one of those, or if it's request based, make sure you tell the students/teachers who are doing the serving that you can't eat a whole lot.

You will, to some extent, have to get used to eating more than you are comfortable with. The benefit of that though, is a lot of nights you don't end up feeling the need for dinner, since you had such a big lunch. Also, after your first month or so your stomach will get used to it -- the rice is digested quickly.

On the other hand, there are lunches every now and then that leave me really hungry afterwards -- those are usually the lunches that are 'foreign food' days.... like this week we had one slice of 'french toast', a small salad, a small dessert, and a small bowl of soup. I was hungry again a half hour after lunch ended. There are some days when there isn't really enough food, though those are the exceptions.

There are still days where I am uncomfortably full after lunch -- especially the ones where they give you two or three types of grain-product... x.x the worst was when we had chicken noodle soup, some bread, and fried rice.... it was too much food for everyone. However, you can bet that the other teachers and the students feel the same way as you do about eating more food than they are comfortable with -- but they really frown on throwing food out and being wasteful... so odds are you'll learn to eat more than you're comfortable with.